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Armand
Armand (born Andrei) is a vampire made by Marius de Romanus. He is young in appearance, beautiful and often referred to as angelic. He is over 400 years old and the maker of Daniel Molloy. Physical Appearance "And there I saw beauty, beauty which has always been my downfall, beauty in a new and celestial form. Heaven had cast down upon this stone floor an abandoned angel, of auburn curls and perfectly formed limbs, of fair and mysterious face. His soft reddish hair was loose and tangled. His flesh was pale and the bones of his face only faintly sharpened by his Slavic blood." "This was a boy, as I had said, and he had a head of long curly hair. But his face was shining white, and perfect, the countenance of a god it seemed, a Cupid out of Caravaggio, seductive yet ethereal, with auburn hair and dark brown eyes." Personality Armand's personality is that of a typical teenage boy, though more refined. He seems, like many of the vampires, to have a preoccupation with existential issues such as the meaning of life and what being a vampire means within such ponderings. Armand, however, is unique in that he swings from periods of hedonistic denial of a higher power to bouts of zealotry, devoting himself to the dogma of the Parisian coven and later throwing himself into the sun after seeing Veronica's Veil. Armand in many ways has never matured from the teenager he was when he was turned. He is still prone to impulsive and extreme acts, often described as seeming "lost" when his actions spiral into events beyond his control. Biography Early Life Born in Kiev, Russia in the year 1480, Armand, then known as Andrei, was a talented young boy who could paint wondrous images of icons and gods. At the age of 15, Andrei and his father were transporting an icon as an offering when they are taken by surprise and attacked by Tartars. Andrei is kidnapped and is taken by ship to be sold into slavery in Italy. Andrei arrives in Venice and is taken to a brothel where he refuses to do anything the men ask him to do. The men beat Andrei and abandon him to his death in the basement with no memory of who he is. He is found and rescued by Marius de Romanus who immediately gives him the name Amadeo, believing the name's meaning "Beloved of God", appropriately suits him. He purchases Amadeo from the brothel and nurses him back to health at his home, where he receives an education among the many other boys Marius has rescued. Though he was a talented painter, during his education Amadeo refuses to paint again, though he cannot fully remember the reason why. As part of what Marius believes to be the education of the ways of being human, Marius regularly sends Amadeo to brothels to be serviced by women and men. During his time spent with Marius, Amadeo notices odd things about his master, however he is more than willing to ignore them, as he is happy in his new life. Amadeo rapidly picks up the language and proves to be a brilliant student. Amadeo later meets Bianca Solderini, a friend and neighbour of his master. Amadeo spends much of his time at Bianca's parties and in her home and occasionally in her bed. Amadeo is eventually shown the nature of what his master truly is but feels no revulsion and still carries on loving his master regardless. When Amadeo is around 17 years old, he manages to anger Lord Harlech; an Englishman who claims to be madly in love with him, who then attacks Amadeo in his home. Lord Harlech himself is killed, though it leaves Amadeo mortally wounded by the Lord Harlech's poisoned blade. He is taken to Marius' room and looked after by Bianca until Marius arrives. Marius finds Amadeo slipping away, who says he believes he is seeing heaven. Fearing he'll lose Armadeo forever, Marius fears he has no choice but to give Amadeo the Dark Gift, turning him into a vampire. Now no longer a mortal, Marius teaches Amadeo how to live as a vampire and only to hunt evil doers which Amadeo gladly does whilst he remains in the company of his master. Amadeo's happiness with Marius is short-lived as his home is soon attacked by Santino and his coven of vampires who take Amadeo away from Marius and hold him prisoner. Believing Marius to be dead, Amadeo joins the vampires who kidnapped him and begins to follow their rules and beliefs. Santino plays a large part in convincing Amadeo that vampires are completely evil beings that should not be allowed to live as mortals do. Amadeo is then renamed Armand and is sent to rule over a coven in Paris which resides underneath the cemetary. Armand leads the coven and makes sure they follow these rules until Lestat and Gabrielle manage to persuade the entire coven that Armand's beliefs are ridiculous and petty. Armand realizes that the coven can no longer survive as it did before so kills the majority of the vampires in it. He then appeals to Lestat and Gabrielle to stay with him and teach him how to live in this world. They refuse to stay with Armand but put him in charge of the Théâtre des Vampires. Armand stays in the Theater in Paris until Louis and Claudia arrive. Armand, who wanted Louis for himself, influences Louis to make a Claudia a mother by turning Madeleine into a vampire thus freeing Louis from any obligations he may have had to care for Claudia. Soon Lestat arrives seeking help from Armand which he refuses to give and forces the weakened Lestat to testify that it was Claudia who attacked him and tried to kill him. This testimony gives the vampires reason enough to kill Claudia as killing another vampire is forbidden. Once Armand has finished with Lestat he pushes him from the top of the building, leaving Lestat seriously wounded. Armand then leaves Paris with Louis to travel the world together until Armand realises Louis has been changed by Claudia's death and will never recover. Armand then leaves Louis after making sure he had eveything he needs to survive. Armand then comes across the reporter Daniel Molloy who recorded Louis' story in Interview With The Vampire. Armand decides to let Daniel live and lets him go, only to follow Daniel wherever he goes in the world and question Daniel on everything, trying to understand men and the new world they live in. Armand soon falls in love with Daniel but refuses to make him into a vampire numerous times. He buys Daniel the "Night Island" and Daniel teaches Armand about modern day technology, which Armand becomes obsessed with. Daniel, frustrated that Armand keeps refusing to make him a vampire, starts running away on a regular basis only to be brought back by Armand who takes care of him. Daniel is eventually made a vampire by Armand who doesn't want to lose Daniel and together they both go to the concert of "The Vampire Lestat". Here they witness the deaths of several vampires who are killed by an unseen force. They go together to hear the story of Maharet and Akasha and how vampires first came into being. Armand is also reunited with Marius very briefly at this meeting. When Akasha is destroyed and Lestat is safe, all the vampires travel to Night Island where they all enjoy each others company for a short time. Eventually everyone leaves Night Island and Armand and Daniel separate. The next time Armand is mentioned is when Lestat returns with Memnoch who he claims was the devil who showed him heaven and hell. Armand, believing completely in all that Lestat says, tries to kill himself by walking into the sunlight in the name of God. Armand's suicide attempt was unsuccessful, leaving himself seriously injured and burnt. He reads the minds of the people in houses around him and kills the brother of Sybelle to save her from him and also to try and get his own strength back. Sybelle and her young companion Benji, both mortals, are thankful for what Armand has done and don't seem to care what he is or how he looks, and offer to help him regain his strength by bringing him people to kill, which they do until he has the strength to go out and find victims for himself. When Armand is almost completely recovered, he takes Benji and Sybelle to where Lestat is resting in a chapel unconscious, surrounded by the other vampires. He leaves them both with Marius to take care of, sure that they will come to no harm with him. Armand wants to drink the blood of Lestat to know what it is Lestat saw whilst with Memnoch, and against Gabrielle's warnings, he does, and is thrown away by an invisible force. Armand returns to Marius and finds that Sybelle and Benji have been turned into vampires, as a gift from Marius which he is of course thankful for. Armand is also present when Lestat is awakened by Sybelle's piano playing. The last appearance of Armand was when he was called by Maharet because Marius wanted revenge on Santino which Armand didn't seem to understand. After Santino's death, Armand has not been seen since.